The disclosures herein relate generally to information handling systems and more particularly to information handling systems which exhibit a decrease in the amount of time needed to achieve a usable state.
As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
While modern information handling systems have become faster and faster as our technology progresses, further improvement is still desirable. The process of booting an information handling system often takes a significant amount of time. Reducing boot time is very desirable to the system user. Many factors contribute to delays in booting an information handling system. For example, Basic Input Output System (BIOS) Power On Self Test (POST) checks, memory checks, driver loading and hardware discovery are all factors which contribute to boot time. Significant time is consumed when the information handling system discovers the display hardware coupled to the system. A typical information handling system interrogates the display each time the system is booted to learn the capabilities of the display, such as its available resolutions and refresh rates, for example. All of this takes time.
Moreover, significant time is also consumed when a conventional information handling system resumes from a suspend state. Known information handling systems save power by entering a low power suspend state after a predetermined amount of time from an input event has transpired. For example, hard drives can be spun down and the clock frequency of the system's processor can be throttled back to reduce energy consumption. The display portion of the system can also enter a low power suspend state to conserve power. Unfortunately however, when the system is commanded to resume from the suspend state, substantial time can be consumed while the system rediscovers the display and its available operating modes.
Therefore, what is needed is an information handling system which boots and resumes from suspend state more quickly. In short, it is desirable that the system achieves, or returns to, a usable state as soon as possible.